Where Did All The Money Go?

Reasons are abundant for why recent civic elections went the way they did.  Some ascribe it to a right-wing leaning electorate, yet in Ontario, as well as Calgary, centrist or left-leaning candidates prevailed in numerous locations. The elites, who can't stomach the fact that disconsolate masses would vote in "slash-and-burn" politicians with little understanding of the difficulties of service delivery or complex policy, attribute it to simplistic voter outrage. Right-wingers, including Tea Party types, are moaning that "socialists" have ascended to power in numerous contests - and in Calgary of all places. Answers galore are expressed in every coffee shop, work place, political caucus meeting, and in the media, but the truth is that none of us are fully sure what is the cause of it all. Yet we all know we are in changing times that spell a difficult portent of things to come.Missing in all of this has been the erosion of the social and economic compact caused by fundamental changes in how we manage wealth in this country. Until we understand the underlying reasons why this has all happened, we'll never quite know how to address the challenges ahead. Put simply, we've been going astray since the late-1970s. The compact reached between citizens, corporations, and governments that held firm in the years following World War Two has fallen off the rails, leaving us with a basic question today that has yet to be addressed: The current recession aside, if our economy has grown exponentially since the post-war years, why is it we are sensing we have less than in times previous?Following the Depression and World War Two, there was an inherent understanding that a capitalism permitted free rein had enriched the few while endangering the rest. In the midst of the phenomenal economic growth following the war, there was a determined effort to ensure that most of society caught up with the benefits. As the economy expanded, so did the earnings of middle-class families and corporate executives alike. Governments benefitted because, with low unemployment and increasing corporate and private earnings, taxes permitted a range of social programs designed to assist those who either missed the economic benefit or were in positions of incapacity that limited their opportunities. Thus, our "Greatest Generation" was characterized by growth, benefit and expansion.But as the Americans fell under the sway of the right-wing market reformers in the 1970s and 1980s, Canada slowly edged in the same direction. And all this was transpiring in a time of global trade expansion, remarkable natural resource discoveries, and high productivity rates for average citizens. For some reason, as productivity rates continued to climb, Canadians themselves sensed they were falling behind. Each time our economy fell into recession, changes were made to the original compact that favoured the wealthy. Money was being accumulated hand over fist, but not by the middle class. Every time citizens were told that adjustments needed to be made to the original compact, they fell farther and farther behind while the corporate sector flourished. This isn't fanciful presumption, as some claim, but has been outlined in annual economic research and reports.Governments were stuck. Those with wealth advantage pressed for lower corporate taxes, and citizens were falling farther back to the point where two incomes were required for families just to keep pace. Corporations don't vote but have influence; citizens vote but hold increasingly little sway. A perfect storm has descended upon Canada where we are a fabulously wealthy country, but less and less of the gain has been distributed throughout the middle and lower classes. This is much of what drove the anger in these past civic elections. Canadians know something is wrong, yet they are continually told to be content with less at the same time others are making a risky fortune. To a large degree, average citizens don't cause times of economic upheaval; an overreaching financial sector does, and yet repeatedly Canadians are asked to pay the price for market gambling.At what point does an economy imperil itself politically, as citizens sense the game is rigged against them? Well, it would seem to be at that pivotal time right now, with voters either increasingly opting out or forcing themselves in by anger. The compact is broken. The wealth is defrayed upwards, Hard times are pushed through the body of society. It's a mugs game destined for turbulence.